In this Discussion

Protect anonymity We strongly suggest that members do not include their email addresses. Once that is published , your email address is available to anyone on the internet , including hackers.

Notice All discussions and comments that contain an external URL will be automatically moved to the spam queue. No external URL pointing to a medical web site is permitted. Forum rules also indicate that you need prior moderator approval. If you are going to post an external URL, contact one of the moderators to get their approval.

There are no medical professionals on this forum side of the site. Therefore, no one is capable or permitted to provide any type of medical advice.This includes any analysis, interpretation, or advice based on any diagnostic test

The main site has all the formal medical articles and videos for you to research on.

advertisement

mass effect on cord??

Hello,I have been suffering with pain in neck shoulder down arm/with pins and needles in both hands and weekness in arm,I have went through 8 weeks of physicall therapy, 25 visits,10 chiro visits the pain has increased since it first started 10 weeks ago,this past thursday sept 4th had a epidural still pain is severe, have a app at nero surgeon on monday 15th, was scheuled for oct 1st but called and begged for a earlier appt....okay heres my question what does mass effect on cord mean? this is what mri says

RESULTS OF MRI: C3/4: THERE IS A BILATERAL DISC BULDGE WITH SLIGHT NARROWING OF THE RIGHT NEURAL FORAMEN. C4/5:MINMINAL DIFFUSE DISC BULDGE WITH SLIGHT NARROWING OF THE NEURAL FORAMEN.

C/5/C6: RIGHT PARACENTRAL DISC HERNIATION WITH MASS EFFECT ON THE CORD AND MILD SPINAL STENOIS

C6/C7: BROAD BASE DISC HERNIATION WITH MASS EFFECT ON THE CORD AND NARROWING OF THE RIGHT NEURAL FORAMEN.

Comments

hi i see your new to the board or at least it looks that way by your post, im glad you found this board and are here for help, suggestions and answers to your? i have mass effect on my c6-7 disc and other issues too. many people here will be able to give great advice to you... please P.M. me i would love to talk to you. patsy

hi lady bug,wow u sure have the problems, I'am sure cervical problems like yours also present there self as ms so keep your hopes up that its not ms..btw love yer tights..lol..does this look like its gonna be a surgical outcome for me..pain is horrendous,I have a high tolerance for pain but this has got me down...Thanks for your feedbackANNIE

well today is gonna be a good day..little bumps i can handle but them bigger ones can knock you for a loop, and i know you know what i mean--.. i didn't mention my possibly m.s. diagnosis for a long time,I Kept it between family mostly cause i know i don't have it(call me whatever, i know im not a doc, would not even wanna be one) but i know me and i know what i see on the many test)- they might find out in the future that i have m.s. but right now they have no positive proof, now when i started seeing many people with same cervical issue as i having this M.S. diagnosis thrown on them too i started letting people now. i know im way off what i wanted to say at the beginning,Some will say this way ' to strange but... my sister one year younger then me has active M.S. okay enough... thanks for comment on my tights. Anne your appt is in 5 days prolly seems like forever for you or maybe not soon enough, just my opinion, you need some surgery you don't want that cord to be getting compressed on. i would like to know your age and where about you live, maybe you can pm and let me know, if not thats okay i understand. ps.. are your legs having any symptoms?...patsy

are you or did you have surgery to correct your myelopathy? I too was sent through the ringer for a possible diagnose of MS - do not have it according to brain MRI and other testing. I went to my Dr. for pain in my neck and shoulder and arm and burnign feet. I ASKED for a cervical MRI because of my significant history with my spine - he sent me for a brain MRI. Anyhoo, just curious what you're doing to handle your situuation? I am going for my 3rd cervical epidural on 9/24, if these don't work, then my Dr. will FINALLY refer me to a neurosurgeon.

I have been dealing with these back/neck aches and pains for 26 years and now my neck is real bad. I had whiplash at the age of 12 from a drunk driver (arse!). Here's my last cervical MRI - I don't think I have myelopathy yet, but I do have bad neck/shoulder/arm/finger (middle) pain and I still have the burning feet issue as well. I don't know how the burning feet correlate, they probably don't, but we'll never know. I've been tested for EVERYTHING - no answers.

I can't tell what kind of "effect" my impingment has on my cord - it doesn't give a percentage of the impingement. Thanks!

**MRI Cervical Spine without Contrast. The vertebrae are normally aligned. Stature of the vertebral bodies is maintained. Spinal cord is of normal morphology with exception of ventral impression on the cord in the left paramedian location at C6-7 secondary to moderate protrusion of the nucleus pulposus. There is no evidence of tonsillar herniation, and the foramen magnum is normal in appearance. There is mild/moderate broad-based bulging in the disk/endplate complex at C5-6, but this finding does not cause impression on the spinal cord, there is no spinal or foraminal stenosis at this level.

Impression: Significant protrusion of the nucleus pulposus at C6-7, finding is positioned in the left paramedian location and causes mild ventral impression on the spinal cord. It is also possible that this finding may impinge the traversing left C8 root. Otherwise unremarkable MRI of the cervical spine.

i dont no where to begin - but first im sorry about your situation and can kind understand your pain-i have not had surgery--yet--praying it will be sooner then later,i have had over 10 brain mris no leasions ever found, i have had spinal tap, came back neg. but they still give me diagnosis of possibly M.S. i have seen 3 neurologist in last 2or 3 months and have been to 2 surgeons in last month, both surgeons say i need surgery no other options for me but they cant or maybe are afraid to do surgery, they say to many issues meaning the surgeons think i have M.S. the last neurologist stated i do not have M.S. but that doesnt seem to make a diff, to surgeons. I dont think i have ms at all. at least i dont have no positive mris saying so, maybe in 1 or 10 years i will have positive mris who knows, all i do know is that if they dont fix my neck soon the myeolopathy will prolly get worse, if i have surgery and they take the pressure off my cord it will at least stop the progression of my myeolpathy symptoms and maybe just maybe get a little back my arms and shoulder,hands and fingers are effected but my legs are getting pretty weak. i have to use a cane at times which is hard when your arms are weak to begin with. im a rambler on here, im sorry my suggestion to you is get in and see a neurologist asap!i have been through the epidural thing 2 years ago it did help with my neck and shoulder pain and headaches too but then i had some bad side effects that i know live with because of them, but this was all a rear case and you should not worry the episerals helped alot with my pain i was having lasted for a couple months. sorry if i make no sence for i just type and type we can talk later ... patsy

yah those pin sticking tests are great arent they!!!i had all the symptoms of ms so i asked dr if i might have ms. he said no because mri showed no lesions on spinal nerves or brain. i guess with ms the coating of the nerves gets disturbed and it shows as white on mri. the mri isnt painful.pete